The fist of a lean, muscular man slammed into Joe’s face with enough force to snap his head backward.
A heavy THUD echoed through the partially constructed building, mixing with the distant rumble of machinery and the occasional clatter of tools.
Joe staggered across the dusty concrete, his boots scraping against the floor as he struggled to keep his balance.
"Dan, wait!" Joe barely had time to raise his arms before another punch came crashing toward him. He managed to block it with both forearms, but the impact still sent a sharp jolt of pain through his bones and forced him several steps backward.
"Dan, seriously!"
Dan didn’t answer instead he advanced, his expression hard and his breathing heavy.
Joe twisted away from the next punch, only for Dan’s fist to catch him across the ribs.
THUD!
The blow drove the air from Joe’s lungs and sent him stumbling sideways.
"Ugh!"
Joe instinctively grabbed his side, but Dan was already moving again.
He seized the front of Joe’s dusty work shirt and shoved him backward, sending him dangerously close to one of the unfinished support structures.
"You’re crazy!"
Desperation finally overcame fear and Joe swung at him, but the punch was wild and poorly timed. Dan blocked and gave him one to the nose
It connected so good that Joe was sent stumbling backward and he immediately covered his nose with one hand, only to find blood already running between his fingers.
"Come on, man! Stop!"
But instead of stopping, Dan took another step forward and for a brief moment, Joe genuinely believed he was about to be knocked unconscious.
Dan wasn’t flailing wildly or throwing punches without thought. Every movement was deliberate, controlled, and frighteningly direct.
His anger hadn’t made him sloppy. If anything, it had stripped away every unnecessary movement, leaving behind nothing but the determination to make Joe understand exactly how serious he was.
Dan’s black hair had become disheveled from the day’s work, several strands hanging over his forehead. Sweat glistened across his face and ran down his temples, while his dusty work shirt clung to his lean frame.
His work gloves were still wrapped around his fists, making every strike feel heavier when they connected.
He had already spent hours working beneath the heat, dealing with exhaustion, frustration, and one problem after another so he released everything on Joe...
"I was just playing!"
Joe’s voice finally made Dan stop. His chest continued rising and falling heavily as he stared at him.
"Playing?"
The single word came out so cold that Joe immediately regretted speaking.
"Yeah... I mean..."
Dan stepped closer causing Joe to instinctively backed away until his shoulders nearly brushed against the unfinished structure behind him.
"Your careless behavior almost got me killed." Dan’s voice was lower now, but the anger behind it hadn’t disappeared.
"You gave me this."
He pointed toward his jaw.
A large patch of skin had been scraped away, leaving raw flesh exposed beneath it. Dried blood still clung to the edges of the wound, making it obvious that the injury was far more serious than a simple scratch.
Joe glanced at it but said nothing.
"And when you saw it, you know what you said?"
Joe’s expression tightened as he remembered. ’You’re fine. Quit making a big deal out of it.’
Dan’s jaw tightened as the memory resurfaced.
It wasn’t just the injury that had pushed him this far.
Accidents happened on construction sites, everyone knew the risks.
Heavy equipment, unstable structures, sharp materials, fatigue, and simple mistakes could all lead to serious injuries.
But this hadn’t been a mistake. Joe had done it on purpose. And after Dan had barely escaped with his life, but Joe had stood there teasing him as though it were nothing more than a joke.
"You were laughing," Dan said, his voice hardening. "That’s all you could do after nearly getting me killed."
Joe remained silent, one hand still pressed against his bleeding nose.
Dan stared at him for several seconds before letting out a bitter breath.
Some of the tension finally began to leave his shoulders.
"I’m already having the worst day I’ve had in months."
He dragged a hand through his disheveled hair, frustration evident in every movement.
"And then you pull that shit."
Joe opened his mouth, seemingly ready to defend himself, but one look at Dan’s expression made him reconsider.
Dan had said what he needed to say, so he took a final step backward and slowly unclenched his fists.
"Don’t ever do it again."
The words were low and cold. For several seconds, the two men simply stood there.
Gradually, the sounds of the construction site returned. The distant rumble of machinery, the scrape of tools against concrete, and the muffled voices of workers outside slowly replaced the silence that had settled over the building.
Dan finally looked down at his hands. Only then did he seem to notice the work gloves still wrapped tightly around his fists.
He pulled them off one at a time and tossed them onto a nearby pile of tools and construction materials. They landed among the dust-covered equipment, their dark fabric marked by the day’s work.
Dan didn’t bother looking back at Joe. He turned and walked toward the doorway, his footsteps echoing across the unfinished floor.
Behind him, Joe remained where he was, one hand pressed against his nose and the other protecting his bruised ribs as he watched Dan disappear.
Only after Dan was gone did Joe finally let out the breath he’d been holding.
"That bastard..."
By then, several workers had begun gathering around the area.
They had heard the commotion and naturally wanted to see what was happening, but none of them had dared intervene while Dan was still throwing punches.
Instead, they moved aside as he walked past, giving him a clear path toward the exit.
Nobody seemed particularly interested in defending Joe, either.
Everyone knew how annoying he could be. More importantly, most of them had heard what had happened earlier.
Considering how dangerous the situation had been, they understood why Dan had lost his temper, even though beating Joe bloody wasn’t exactly the most reasonable way to settle it.
Dan pushed through the doorway and stepped outside.
The moment the cooler air touched his face, he exhaled slowly.
His shoulders lowered slightly as the tension began to leave his body, although the anger hadn’t completely disappeared, he was still furious.
But beneath that anger was another feeling that had been weighing on him long before his confrontation with Joe. Exhaustion.
Exhaustion was a normal thing, after all being a construction worker wasn’t exactly an easy way to make a living.
Every day involved heavy machinery, unstable materials, dangerous heights, sharp tools, and countless opportunities for something to go horribly wrong.
Even when everyone followed proper procedures, the work was physically demanding and mentally exhausting. A single moment of carelessness could turn an ordinary workday into a tragedy.
And today had been particularly bad.
Dan had already spent most of the day dealing with problems that seemed to appear one after another. By the time Joe pulled that life threatening prank, Dan was already running on exhaustion and frustration.
One careless mistake could have cost someone their life. It could have cost Dan his.
That was exactly why he couldn’t understand Joe’s behavior.
The idiot was a newbie, yet he’d treated a potentially deadly situation like some kind of joke.
Dan still couldn’t understand how someone could look at heavy construction equipment, unsecured materials, and an obvious safety hazard and somehow decide that it was the perfect time to fool around.
Then again, Dan supposed there was a reason people said common sense wasn’t common.
He’d heard the saying countless times before, usually as a harmless joke whenever someone did something particularly stupid.
Until today, he’d never really thought much about it.
Now, after nearly getting seriously injured because of someone else’s carelessness, he found the saying disturbingly accurate.
’People who lack brain cells really exist...’ He sighed as he continued walking away from the construction site, hoping the fresh air would finally cool his head.
His body was sore from the day’s work, his clothes were covered in dust, and a bruise was already forming beneath his shirt where Joe’s earlier mistake had caused him to take a hard hit.
But the injury that bothered him most was the one on his jaw.
It was quite grevious, the wound throbbed with every movement, and Dan knew there was no way he could continue working like this.
His shift wasn’t even over yet, but somehow the day already felt like it had lasted three times as long as it should have.
He rubbed the back of his neck and let out another tired breath.
Maybe he should just go home.
But the thought had barely crossed his mind when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Average Joe, are you at it again?"
It wasn’t directed to Dan obviously but he stopped walking.
For half a second, he simply stood there listening as several workers nearby burst into laughter.
From inside the building came Joe’s furious voice.
"Don’t fucking call me Average, you fucker!"
Dan froze. He stared straight ahead, fighting the sudden urge to laugh.
After everything that had happened that day, the exhausting work, the dangerous accident, the argument with Joe, and the fight that had nearly gotten him into serious trouble, he hadn’t expected something so stupid to be what finally broke through his frustration.
The corner of his mouth slowly lifted.
He tried to suppress the incoming smile but failed.
A quiet chuckle escaped him as he shook his head and continued walking.
For the first time since morning, the weight pressing down on his chest seemed slightly lighter.
Maybe the day wasn’t completely hopeless after all.